While you’ve probably seen this feature around, you may not have ever recognized what it is. Built into OS X, Data Detectors automatically find specific types of information to help you automate certain processes.

For example, let’s say I just received an email from Steve about going to lunch sometime tomorrow. OS X will take a sentence like “We should go to Granato’s for lunch tomorrow” and automatically detect “lunch tomorrow,” allowing you to hover over those words, click the small triangle that appears and select the option “Create new iCal event.” A meeting with the title “Lunch” will automatically be added to your calendar for tomorrow.

Other, more obvious examples of data OS X’s data detectors can make use of include phone numbers, email addresses, etc.